UFC on ESPN+ 1 takes place Jan. 19 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and serves as the UFC's debut event on its new deal with ESPN.

Hardy (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who was signed to a UFC developmental deal after his first appearance on Dana White's Contender Series in the summer, had been slated for a Dec. 21 regional bout at Island Fights 51. That plan, however, has apparently changed with his imminent UFC debut happening instead.

All three of Hardy's pro fights have been first-round knockout wins for the former NFL All-Pro. None have gone past the first minute.

Crowder (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will be making his second UFC appearance after also earning a contract of his own on DWCS. In his promotional debut last year at UFC 218, Crowder was knocked out by Justin Willis in the first round.

The timing of Hardy's UFC debut is curious as it comes on the same night that Rachael Ostovich will meet Paige VanZant in a women's flyweight bout. Ostovich decided to still fight despite suffering a broken orbital last month in an alleged attack by her husband, MMA fighter Arnold Berdon, who was charged with second-degree assault in Honolulu.

In 2014, Hardy was convicted of domestic violence. The charges were later dropped when the victim failed to appear in court.